The Doggone Truth

Every child deserves the opportunity to be able to own their very own dog. Now one may argue that dogs perhaps require too much maintenance or that they have no use, but those people would be gravely mistaken.

When I was a small child at the mere age of seven years old I received the most fantastic birthday gift imaginable. My parents bought me my very own dog. She was a tiny, brown, Miniature Dachshund whom I named Maggie. I remember going with my family to pick her out, she was the runt of the litter, but I liked the happiness that seemed to rub off on anyone around her. Immense joy filled my heart when the breeder handed Maggie over to me; my eyes sparkled with excitement, I finally had a puppy who I could call my own. Now why was getting a puppy so important to me one may ask? Acquiring this dog not only impacted my physically and emotionally, but taught me invaluable life lessons as well.

Getting this one tiny puppy changed my physical life in a humongous way. For one, this puppy seemed to have an endless supply of energy; she kept going and going, never seeming to rest for even a split second. Wherever she ran, a trail of dust was sure to follow closely behind her two inch stubby legs. Because of this puppies boundless energy, I was forced to participate in her activities in order to keep her happy. As a result of this, I then became more active, and spent a whole lot more time outside so that this puppy could be entertained. Another way this puppy changed me is she was now my snuggle buddy, with her there was always someone to sleep with, to watch movies with, and to let me hug on when I was upset. One last way this memory changed me physically is I was now responsible for all the chores it took to own a puppy—meaning I had to walk her, play with her, feed her, and bathe her, so this gave me structure in my life.

Not only did this change me physically, it metamorphosize my emotional well-being. I was changed emotionally because I finally felt included with my older sister and brother. Being the youngest at the time, I often felt left out, or not as important as the older siblings. However, once I had a dog of my own I felt more included with them, because they also had dogs of their own. This shared similarity between us brought me closer to my siblings than I had ever been before. This truly helped me to form a lifelong bond with my brother and sister. This however was not the only way I was changed emotionally; my self esteem levels also rose dramatically. Having such a big responsibility made me have to really step up and mature more in order to care for something living. Having such a huge obligation made me feel more grown up and responsible, thus raising my self esteem level. The last way I was changed emotionally was I became increasingly more happy, having a puppy who followed me like a shadow meant there was always a friend there for me to play with. If my siblings happened to be busy with schoolwork or were with other friends I was still able to have someone to entertain me. Much like the cartoon character Linus with his blanket, Maggie was something I could always count on that would always be there for me; something I knew would accept me without any kind of judgement. Because of this being bored was a thing of the past, meaning happiness was the new trend.

Moreover, Maggie taught me countless life lessons that have been useful in almost every aspect of my life. Receiving this puppy taught me the enormous responsibility it takes to care for a living breathing creature with a mind of its own. This helped me to learn how to keep something alive, and to keep it happy and healthy. Not only did this help me with taking care of my future pets, but it will also help me if I decide have a child sometime in my adult life. Adding on to this, I also learned the consequences that came with making a mistake. A few weeks after I received my puppy my cousin and I were playing at the swing-set, of course my Maggie came along. When we had finished playing we headed home, accidentally leaving Maggie behind. About an hour passed before it came to my attention that my puppy was nowhere to be found. Frantically I alerted my mother and we checked everywhere in the house and continually searched outside. Eventually walking by the swing-set Maggie came running as fast as her legs could carry her and leaped into my arms. After this little incident I was sure to be a lot more careful and responsible for her. This puppy taught me about great communication skills. When I was handed Maggie my parents quickly told me that I was to be in charge of teaching her manners and tricks. Being only seven years old, I was of course a little bit nervous, considering that my new puppy and I spoke two completely different languages. This forced me to find new ways to communicate in order to fulfill my parents wishes of training my birthday present. I was in fact able to not only train this puppy proper manners, but also was able to train her a good amount of fun tricks to show people.

Some people may wonder why receiving my very first dog was so important, although I could go on and on about this, I will keep it short, and tell the three main reasons. For one it taught me many life skills, such as communication skills, taking care of something living other than yourself, and being responsible and learning from your mistakes. Secondly, receiving this puppy on my birthday really sparked my love and curiosity for animals. This curiosity eventually led me to look into possible career paths that dealt with animals, and I now am working to go to North Carolina State University to become a veterinarian. Lastly this dog was so important because it made me a better person, being the caretaker for something that is alive truly helps you grow into a responsible, independent, compassionate person.

Overall receiving a puppy truly shaped me into the person I am currently today. I learned many life skills that reading a book or having your parents teach you just can not compare with. This memory still greatly affects me today, I still think about it every time there is a dog walking down the sidewalk, or every time Maggie curls up next to me as I drift off to sleep. All I can say is this memory impacted my life in a bigger way than most memories have, and I can not even begin to imagine what my life would be like if my parents had not decided to get me that little brown dog.